Shell-funded Firm, Partner Commit $11m to Support 25 Mini-grid Projects in Nigeria

Peter Uzoho

Shell-funded impact investment company, All On, through its Demand Aggregation for Renewable Technologies (DART) programme, has announced its commitment of $11 million to support 25 mini-grid projects in Nigeria.

The firm announced this at the inaugural DART workshop with off-grid developers, commercial banks, domestic investors, and other critical stakeholders, where they discussed strategies to unlock local currency commercial funding for the off-grid renewable energy sector in Nigeria.

In her remarks, Chief Executive Officer of All On, Caroline Eboumbou, highlighted the remarkable success achieved through the DART programme since its launch in 2021.

Eboumbou stated that the programme has committed a total of $11 million to support 25 mini-grid projects across the country, with over 2,700 solar energy systems to be funded and 12 successful applications thus far.

She said efforts had been made to increase the funding of the facility by $15 million, in collaboration with its partner, Global Energy for People and Planet (GEAPP).

These efforts, according to her,  aimed to address the local financing bottlenecks experienced by developers and ensure that affordable, high-quality solar products reach the communities most in need in Nigeria.

“While celebrating these achievements, we also acknowledge that challenges have arisen along the way.

“In collaboration with our partners at GEAPP, we are actively working to address these challenges. We have made significant progress in simplifying the application process and reducing the timelines from application to disbursement.

“Additionally, we have expanded the eligibility scope to include Solar Energy Systems, Standalone Systems for Productive Use (SSPU), and Commercial and Industrial (C&I) developers,” Eboumbou said.

In November 2021, All On, in partnership with GEAPP had set up the DART programme, a $10 million financing facility designed to accelerate the growth of the renewable energy sector in Nigeria and beyond.